Tuesday, February 21, 2006
1992- Kristi Yamaguchi wins the gold for the US in Albertville, France. Headlines--- Classified Ads--- Senior Management ######## surrounding the article denotes it is a “press release”
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Kristi Yamaguchi Olympic Gold Medalist - 1992 Atlanta, GA Baltimore, MD Chicago, IL Denver, CO . Hope, NJ. Irvine, CA. Jacksonville, FL. Lawton, OK. Long Island, NY New York, NY, NJ, Ct Tri-State Orange County, CA Philadelphia, PA. Portfolio Management Consultant ; Salt Lake City, UT San Francisco, CA . Sausalito, Ca Syracuse, N.Y. Wilmington, DE. For a full listing of all “job wanted” ads, please go to: http://64.125.68.91/AL/LeasingNews/JobPostings.htm To place a free “job wanted” ad, please go to: http://64.125.68.91/AL/LeasingNews/PostingForm.asp
* Kristi Yamaguchi was born in Hayward, California, and grew up in Fremont, California where she attended Mission San Jose High School. Yamaguchi began skating as a child, as physical therapy for her club feet. She is coached by Christy Ness. With Rudy Galindo she won the junior pairs title at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in 1986. In 1988, Yamaguchi won the singles and, with Galindo, the pairs titles at the World Junior Championships. Yamaguchi and Galindo won the U.S. senior pairs title in 1989 and 1990. As a pairs team, Yamaguchi and Galindo were unusual in that they were both accomplished singles skaters, and in that they jumped and spun in opposite directions -- Yamaguchi counter-clockwise, and Galindo clockwise. Her former pairs partner, Rudy Galindo, became the first man to have won both the U.S. senior pairs and men's figure skating titles since Ken Shelley in 1972. --------------------------------------------------------------
“Broker/Lessor” List---Up-dated
To view the full list with ability to click on name on list and got to listing, please go to: http://www.leasingnews.org/Brokers/broker_Lessor.htm -------------------------------------------------------------- R.W. Professional Trial Nothing new to report as the trial verdict came in at 4:50pm, EST, Friday, February 17, right before the long holiday weekend. The trial was postponed several times, and finally began on January 19 th . Sentencing hearing is next. Appeals also may be submitted. Barry Drayer is confined to his house on bail, and Stephen Barker has been remanded to the court, in jail, awaiting sentencing. For those who did not read the story of Friday: http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/February%202006/02-17-06-flash.htm -------------------------------------------------------------- NorVergence--Are We Being "Fair?" from a Lessor: I think you are being biased against the leasing companies in your coverage of the NorVergence story. Allegiant Partners was given the opportunity to purchase NorVergence paper and we were fortunate that we passed on the credit. If we would have purchased the leases we would not have done so as part of an evil scheme to defraud lessees. The companies that purchased the leasing paper did not buy it assuming the company would default. They did not want this mess any more than lessees wanted this mess. Some of the independent leasing company principals who purchased the paper are fighting for their own financial survival or jobs. Caught up in the mix are principals of law important to all leasing companies and attorneys attempting to help the positions of their clients. I feel for the lessees, but I also feel for the lessors. The owners of NorVergence are the ones to blame for this mess. I think you should think hard about covering all sides of the story if you are really going to stay "unbiased" as you claim. Christopher A. Enbom CEO Allegiant Partners Incorporated (There were 48 leasing companies who purchased NorVergence contracts. Leasing News has posted 145 stories on this subject in the last year and a half, not including the complaints and “questions” mentions the year and a half before the bankruptcy. Noted were those who saw the packages and turned them down, as evidently Allegiant-Partners did. Among the leasing companies mentioned were Pacific Capital, Bank of the West, including Financial Pacific who did one, and when the second one came in for the same piece of equipment for a different dollar amount, they said, “no way.” A highly reliable source said the first one was settled favorably to the lessee, once they found out about the service issue in the bankruptcy news. I also think one of the reasons Paul Menzel was chosen as the Leasing News Person of the Year for 2005 was one of his statements: ““The story about the FTC investigation of deceptive practices in the small ticket leasing segment should be given serious consideration by all in our industry. NorVergence has exposed the leasing industry to more regulatory scrutiny than in the past. ” Although there is plenty of blame to spread around to all parties concerned, not the least of which is the fraudulent but now bankrupt vendor, the Enron motivated demand for transparency in transactions has arrived at our shore. It is imperative that we rise to the challenge and self regulate our practices to meet the highest of ethical standards. “The leasing industry is good for the US economy and has provided a good living for those of us who participate in it. Let's not allow greedy practices by a few ruin it for the vast professional and ethical majority.” Collection of NorVergence stories http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/Novergence_main.htm -- From a Lessee: I have to have something to say as a lessee. I signed my contractual agreement around April. By June, I find out that not only am I not getting any of the services promised, which by the way included two cell phones free of charge, but after numerous attempts at trying to get someone to speak with me from NorVergence, there no longer is a NorVergence!. Unfortunately, I now come to find out that I owe $27,000.00 to a leasing company. The usual question I kept hearing from people was FOR WHAT? How can you be responsible for something you never received? I am however responsible for reading the lease, yes, but NorVergence signed up attorneys too. They certainly knew how to read a contract! That's how convoluted those leases were. I think you've lost sight of the bigger picture. NorVergence fraud was perpetrated on both the leasing companies and the lessee's. The leasing company wants its money, and rightfully so, however, the lessee's contend that none of the leasing companies did “due diligence” prior to handing over their money to NorVergence. Most of the lessee's, to my knowledge, don't have attorney's on retainers, like the large banks and their subsidiaries, so yes, we were stupid to sign, but more stupid than us was the leasing companies. It's nice to know that someone genuinely received some sort of service, but many never received anything but the bill for m the leasing company. Let's face it, the Salzano brothers did it before, and knew just how to do it again! They're probably doing it right now to some poor schmuck. We are all victims here. AND….. Yes, why aren't the Salzano's in jail???? The Salzano brothers are merely a higher class of scam artist simply by doing it on a much larger scale. Jody Nichilo 246 Highway 34 (For readers who say this is an unusual situation let me tell you there were over 500 such customers in the last few months that NorVergence sold to leasing companies. They did the verbal, packaged the leases and sold them off. In none of these cases was the telephone line hooked up and working. There are estimates there may be up to another 500 who only got some of the service and installation, but their contracts were sold as if “complete.” The recent FTC judgment cleared many of these victims from their contracts which were not fulfilled. editor ) -- From an attorney for the defendant in a IFC Credit case: First, let me thank you for your continued unbiased reporting. No other equipment leasing industry publication has fully examined the NorVergence scandal. I am responding to comments made in the February 17, 2006 edition of Leasing News on two issues in the NorVergence scandal. 1. IFC Credit's holdbacks of payments to NorVergence for assignments of equipment rental agreements: The real issue with IFC's holdbacks is the filing of affidavits which lied about the amounts paid for the assignments. IFC filed affidavits in two different lawsuits which alleged that the entire assignment amount was paid, as opposed to the amounts which John Estok recently admitted in a deposition and in trial testimony to have been the amounts actually paid due to the holdbacks. The affidavit testimony was, therefore, perjury. No person or entity is entitled to lie under oath, even with limp-wristed rationalizations, not even the President of the United States of America. (As a side note, Mr. Estok has stated that he will make a statement. Leasing News has asked him many times for a comment. editor) 2. When is a lease not a lease? This question was posed at the article regarding the FTC and state attorneys general. The best answer is that a lease is not a lease when it is actually intended for security. The definition for security interest is provided in Section 1.203 of the Uniform Commercial Code. Under Section 1.203(a), a lease is intended for security when the primary term of the lease exceeds the remaining economic life of the leased equipment. The remaining economic life is looked at as of the date the lease is entered into. The problem with the NorVergence rental agreements and leases of telephone equipments is that even under ideal circumstances the equipment has no value whatsoever after one and one-half years. The NorVergence rental agreements are for five years, and most other small-ticket leases are for at least 36 months. Comment: The above circumstances, and the use and reliance upon “floating” forum selection and choice of law provisions, shows the equipment leasing industry engaged in wishful thinking and self-delusion. Leasing companies are used to winning summary judgments against lessees which lack adequate financial and legal resources. Certain companies have had “victory disease” much like the Japanese had with a series of early victories in the Pacific Theatre of World War II. NorVergence was different. Did the leasing industry already forget about the Recomm fiasco of the 1990's? One supposed difference between humans and other animals is that humans have the ability to learn from their mistakes. However, the leasing industry has an addiction to large volume business with relatively new companies, without background checks of those companies' officers, just like a drug or alcohol addiction. (Now before you say this is a gross exaggeration: New Jersey Record/Star Ledger: The Record, Bergen County, NJ “Running a phone company into bankruptcy is nothing new for Thomas N. Salzano. Before his ill-fated venture, Newark-based NorVergence, folded last month, Salzano headed up a different phone company. “In the early 1990s, after running a freight consulting business, Salzano founded Minimum Rate Pricing Inc. in Bloomfield, a reseller of residential long-distance phone service that eventually hired hundreds of people but ran afoul of federal regulators in 1998 when customers complained that MRP illegally switched their long-distance, a technique known as slamming. “A settlement was reached, and MRP agreed to pay a $1.2 million fine to the Federal Communications Commission. But over the next few months, MRP's business imploded. “The company, which bought its long-distance service wholesale from WorldCom (now MCI), racked up $67 million in debt, according to court papers, and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, along with some related companies, in February 1999.” A year later, he is back with "Charity Snack." from Northjersey.com: "From January through June, the Kenilworth-based company collected cash for the American Breast Cancer Foundation using thousands of cardboard boxes, filled with cookies and candy. Printed on Charity Snack's cardboard box is a promise to donate 30 percent of its profits to charity. “The company's sales staff placed an estimated 4,000 to 5,000 boxes in nail salons, auto-repair shops and other walk-in businesses throughout New Jersey, according to former employees. By April, the business was growing fast, bringing in as much as $20,000 a week in cash, the employees said. “Mia Saric, who started work at Charity Snack in February, said 269 of her boxes brought in $2,963 in one two-week period. “Saric said her pay was docked $25 if she was five minutes late to a morning meeting. Former NorVergence employees have described a boiler-room-like atmosphere with draconian work rules including being docked for pay if they were late. “... Salzano scuffled with police after he was unceremoniously booted from his Kenilworth office that housed Charity Snack, his latest venture, for non-payment of rent. “On the surface, the companies couldn't have less in common: NorVergence was a reseller of phone service with hundreds of millions of dollars of leases; Charity Snack raised money for breast cancer by putting cardboard boxes in nail salons. “But the similarities were striking. “Both companies relied on a high-powered sales force working from a script; employees described draconian work rules including docking pay for minor infractions; and when the business soured, some employees say they weren't paid what was owed to them. “And both companies fell hard: NorVergence crashed in a bankruptcy that has spawned a slew of investigations; Charity Snack lost its office and its affiliation with the charity for which it said it was raising money. “Last week, a U.S District Court judge ordered a $181.7 million default judgment against NorVergence in a case brought by the Federal Trade Commission. “And creditors now assert the company owes $550 million. “Of that, former employees claim $6 million in unpaid wages and health benefits. And the IRS says NorVergence went bankrupt owing $6 million in taxes. The company has cash on hand of $520,000, said Michael Holt, a lawyer for the bankruptcy trustee. --------------------------------------------------------------
Top Stories--February 13-17 These are the top ten stories most "opened" by readers last week.
(1) John Estok, Executive Vice-President of IFC Credit (2 ) Sales Make it Happen--Sales Isn't Just for the Salesperson- Bob Teichman,CLP (3) When is a Lease Not a Lease? (4 ) Cartoon—Office of IFC Credit Exec. VP John Estok (5 ) Einhorn also pays $1,031,034.35 (6) True Leases - True Challenges-- Steve Chriest (7) Are the NorVergence Lessees being misled? (8) MAEL No More—Cady owed $200,000? (9 ) Where is Charlie Lester on Valentine's Day? (10) An Analysis of Leasing Company IPO Not Counted in the top ten was the "flash" sent on Friday afternoon about the conviction of Barry Drayer and Stephen Barker/RW Professional trial (More people opened the story on Saturday. Sunday had a lot of “first opens,” too, as well as Monday. A high amount over four days. http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/February%202006/02-17-06-flash.htm -------------------------------------------------------------- Classified Ads—Help Wanted Account Executive
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-------------------------------------------------------------- Capital American wants to run dealership Walterman Implement, Inc., a former Case IH dealership in Dike, Iowa ("Walterman Implement") amid charges of keeping lease deposits, double financing equipment, and other irregularies filed bankruptcy. CNH America and CNH Capital America LLC ("CNH Capital"), along with other creditors have filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition (In re: Walterman Implement, Inc., Involuntary Chapter 7 Bankruptcy No. 05-07284, in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Iowa) against Walterman Implement, Inc. Capital America reportedly took this action after discovering irregularities in the books and records of Walterman Implement and the sale of collateral by Walterman Implement without paying the related borrowings with CNH Capital. The outstanding loan amounts with Walterman Implement is approximately $20 million. The Company also owns or services a retail loan portfolio (approximately $45 million as of December 31, 2005) resulting from sales by Walterman Implement. Although much of the retail portfolio is reportedly collateralized and alleged reserves are established, CNH reports it has discovered that a portion of the collateral has been double financed or was not ultimately delivered to the customers specified in the retail contracts. C-N-H Capital America has filed a petition to operate an eastern Iowa farm implement dealership under the supervision of a court-appointed trustee. Walterman Implement telephone has been disconnected with apparent no response forthcoming. --------------------------------------------------------------
Dubai to develop own $ 10.8 Billion aircraft lease company SMH.com.au UBAI, prospering from near-record oil prices, plans to invest $US15 billion ($20 billion) to create a company that will lease planes, develop airports and make aircraft parts to tap into growing demand for air travel in the Middle East and Asia. The family ruled emirate, which owns the largest Arab airline, may buy as many as 50 wide-body aircraft from Boeing and Airbus in the next four years, said Rashid Al-Malik, project director for the planned company, which will be called Dubai Aerospace. "We want to be a very important player in this region and the world in a short time," Mr. Al-Malik told reporters in Dubai on Sunday. Dubai is on the acquisition trail. Shareholders of Britain's Peninsular & Oriental agreed last week to sell the company to Dubai Ports for $US6.8 billion, which will also give DP an important slice of ports operations from the US to Australia. The emirate has spent at least $US10.8 billion since January last year when it paid $US1 billion for a stake in DaimlerChrysler. With its latest initiative Dubai is seeking to rival the two largest aircraft lessors, American International's International Lease Finance Corp and GE Commercial Aviation Services. The airport development unit will compete with BAA, Aeroports de Paris, Fraport and Australia's Macquarie for projects in India and China. "It's not surprising Dubai is moving into these activities because the whole focus of the aerospace industry has shifted eastward in recent years," said Doug McVitie, managing director of Arran Aerospace, a forecasting company in Dinan, France. Mr Al-Malik said Middle Eastern governments including Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar had ordered as many as 300 aircraft for delivery in the next five years and Dubai Aerospace would order its first this year. From 1990 to 2004, Dubai's gross domestic product quadrupled to $US27 billion, and expanded another 16 per cent last year. The total volume of trade through the emirate increased 41 per cent to $US59 billion. -------------------------------------------------------------- Mortgage Rates Up Fourth Week in a Row For the fourth week in a row, rates on 30-year mortgages rates are up according to Fannie Mae, the highest level since the beginning of the year. Homes for re-sale are falling, while new home sales with better rates and media prices are rising. Rates on 30-year mortgages rose to 6.28%, up from 6.24% last week. Rates on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages, averaged 5.91% this week, up from 5.83% last week. One-year adjustable rate mortgages increased to 5.36% this week, compared with 5.34% last week. Rates on five-year hybrid adjustable rate mortgages rose to 5.95% this week, up from 5.89% last week. The mortgages rates do not include add-on fees known as points. The one-year ARM carried a nationwide average fee of 0.7 point last week while the other three categories carried an average fee of 0.5 point. A year ago, 30-year mortgages averaged 5.62%, 15-year mortgages stood at 5.14%, one-year adjustable-rate mortgages were at 4.15% and five-year hybrid adjustable rate mortgages averaged 5.05%
-------------------------------------------------------------- New Home Sales Highest since 1973 Al Schuler, US Department of Agriculture (Despite a drop in re-sale of homes, the new home market remains “hot,” with predictions to remain healthy as the move continues strong in the median price marketplace. Also note the economic forecast.) Housing starts increased 14.5% in January to 2.276 million (SAAR), the highest level since March 1973. Weather was the primary reason for the surge as the unseasonably warm January encouraged more starts than normal in the northern half of the country. The single family sector was up 12.8% to 1.819 million SAAR, and multi family increased 21.9%. Starts were up in all regions: 29% in the NE; 23.7% in the MW; 8.7% in the South; and 16.9% in the West. Permits, which are less affected by weather, were up a more modest 6.8%.
Analysis and outlook: The new year started out with a bang thanks in part to the warm weather in January and the seasonality adjustment that is applied to convert monthly data to “an annual rate” to facilitate monthly comparisons. For example, actual starts in January were 151,000, but when you apply seasonality adjustment factors, the SAAR (seasonal adjusted annual rate) was 2.217 million. In comparison, December 2005 actual starts were 135,700, and after applying the adjustment factor, the SAAR rate was 1.988 million. Although actual starts in January were up a substantial 11.3%, the seasonality factor made the increase look even stronger. All this is just to point out that monthly starts can fluctuate significantly, and that means we should focus on trends.
Here are the trends: (1) Interest rates are going up with the 30 year mortgage averaging 6.15% in January, compared with 2005's average of 5.86%. With the economy expected to weaken through 2006, but remain relatively strong ( GDP between 3% and 3.5%), and the employment picture (jobs and income) getting better each quarter, the bond market will probably keep nudging up long term rates. NAHB expects the 30 year mortgage to average 6.5% in 2006, up 60 basis points over last years average. This will increase the monthly payment on a typical mortgage ($150,000) by about $75/month or a little less than $1000 per year. Although this doesn't seem like too much to many families, it will drop a growing number of 1st time buyers from the market (forcing them to the rental market), and this should show up in better multi family starts over the next two years. (2) As we said in last months' note, the key to housing is jobs, income, and interest rates. Rates are driven by inflation expectations which in turn are impacted by risk or uncertainty. Although we expect inflation to remain relatively tame, thanks in large part to excess capacity throughout the world (and lots of investment dollars), one must consider the risk associated with geopolitical concerns that add “risk premiums” (e.g. some analysts put the current risk premium on oil at $20 to $30 per barrel – i.e., with no risk premium, oil prices would be somewhere near $30/bbl instead of $60.) And, with terrorism remaining a concern, any up tick increases risk and that usually translates into problems for the world economy. (3) New home price gains are starting to moderate with the median price increasing 7.4% in 2005, down considerably from the 13.3% increase in 2004. This is good news, although there remain pockets on both coasts where double digit increases persist. The inventory of new and existing homes for sale are at all time highs: 525,000 new homes (6.1 month supply) and 2.8 million existing homes are on the market. Large inventories make the market more vulnerable to sudden shifts in demand – something to monitor. (4) Builders should get a break in building material prices for wood products in 2006 as demand capacity ratios fall in response to increasing supply ( more production capacity for OSB, more non Canadian lumber imports, and steady North American lumber production capacity) in the face of moderately lower housing demand. Summary: As long as the “wild cards” don't come into play, housing should remain healthy in 2006 – single family will pull back some while multifamily is expected to make modest gains. Things to watch: oil prices; and the dollar. Most analysts don't expect any serious problems, but prudent planners need to consider various scenarios and be prepared for surprises. Courtesy: Carl Villella, CLP Acceptance Leasing and Financing Service, Inc. Airport Corporate Centre ---------------------------------------------------------------- Charlie Lester at Home For those following Leasing News Advisor Emeritus Charlie Lester, his knee replacement was successful and his wife Barbara reports her “bionic husband” is home resting. He may be up to e-mail, and certainly would like to hear from his friends at cel3245@mindspring.com
### Press Release ########################### NACM on Personal Guarantees Columbia, Maryland: —Small business owners are often preoccupied with developing new products or services, sales activities, establishing a place of business and other endeavors, but often they neglect something that may increase their odds of financial survival—establishing business credit. The National Association of Credit Management (NACM) recommends that small business owners take steps to establish credit in the name of their business as a way to preserve cash flow for necessary business operations, purchases and rental payments. In order to establish business credit, in many cases small business owners must initially be willing to personally guarantee their business's credit until credit becomes established in the name of the business. Of course, in order to extend personal credit to one's business, the business owner or owners should have good personal credit. Therefore, getting one's personal credit in good shape is a good idea before establishing a business. “You will be asked many times to sign a personal guarantee,” said Johnnie White, Credit Services Manager for Advertising with the Houston Chronicle. “Make sure you have good personal credit.” White, who is a member of NACM South Texas, one of the nationwide networks of NACM Affiliates, also recommends that when credit is extended, bills be paid on time. She pointed out that doing so not only helps solidify your relationship with that vendor, but it also may provide you with a good credit reference when trying to establish credit with other suppliers. “If you pay us on time and we can reference for you, we will,” White said. Dean Wangsgard, CCE, President of NACM Business Credit Services in Salt Lake City, recommends that small business owners make personal sacrifices to help pay their business's bills on time in order to establish good business credit. “Small business owners have to be willing to go without a paycheck for a while if necessary… they've got to pay their bills first.” Trish Pendleton, President-COO of NACM Nashville, Inc., noted that providing a personal guarantee to back your business's credit demonstrates that you have faith in your company, too. “If you don't have enough confidence in your company to pay that bill, why should I? What it boils down to is that I'm loaning you money for 30 days (assuming 30-day payment terms for goods or services). Why shouldn't I ask you for your guarantee?” A personal guarantee may persuade a vendor to extend credit to a new business that it would otherwise decline. “New small business owners have to realize: if they want to start a relationship with a vendor, they have to provide a level of comfort,” Pendleton added. The National Association of Credit Management (NACM), headquartered in Columbia, Maryland supports more than 25,000 business credit and financial professionals worldwide with premier industry services, tools and information. NACM and its network of Affiliated Associations are the leading resource for credit and financial management information and education, delivering products and services that improve the management of business credit and accounts receivable. NACM's collective voice has influenced legislative results concerning commercial business and trade credit to our nation's policy makers for more than 100 years, and continues to play an active part in legislative issues pertaining to business credit and corporate bankruptcy. www.nacm.org ### Press Release ########################### Key Equipment Fiannce names Daly, Long, and Reale as Vice-Presidents SUPERIOR, CO. – – Key Equipment Finance, one of the nation's largest bank-affiliated equipment financing companies and an affiliate of KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY), has promoted three members of its Corporate Development team to the position of vice president: Colleen Daly (Boston, Massachusetts), Sara Long (Boulder, Colorado) and Kelly M. Reale (Albany, New York). Colleen Daly began her career with American Express Company in 1990 as an account executive and transferred to the Strategic Relationships Group as account director in 1995. In 2000 she was named director of marketing at American Express Business Finance, acquired by Key Equipment Finance in 2004. Daly earned her bachelor of science degree, cum laude, from the Whittemore School of Business at the University of New Hampshire at Durham. Sara Long began her financial career at First City National Bank in Houston, Texas, and later became a commercial lender at Wells Fargo Bank in Denver, Colorado. She joined Leasetec Corporation in 1997, soon after it had been acquired by Key Equipment Finance. In 2001 she was named business unit director for global vendor services operations, ultimately concentrating on the StorageTek Financial Services vendor program. In 2005 she joined the Corporate Development team to lend added focus on product development for Key's global vendor services business. Long earned her bachelor of arts degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder and her masters degree in international management from Thunderbird (The Garvin School of International Management) in Arizona. Kelly M. Reale joined Key Equipment Finance in 1994 as a credit officer in its commercial leasing services division; she became regional business unit manager in 1998 and project manager in 1999. She joined Corporate Development in 2000 as director of product and market development for Key Equipment Finance in North America. Reale earned her bachelor of arts degree in economics from the State University of New York at Albany and her masters degree in business administration from the College of St. Rose. She is a member of the Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals (SCIP) and a member of the Equipment Leasing Association (ELA) where she served on the Research Committee from 1999 to 2004. “Colleen, Sara and Kelly have each proven themselves to be valued and highly integrated members of the Key Equipment Finance management team,” said Melisa Carter, senior vice president, Corporate Development. “Their promotions to vice president are well-deserved.” Key Equipment Finance is an affiliate of KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) and provides business-to-business equipment financing solutions to businesses of many types and sizes. The company focuses on four distinct markets: · businesses of all sizes in the U.S. and Canada (from small business to large corporate); Key Equipment Finance is an affiliate of KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) and provides business-to-business equipment financing solutions to businesses of many types and sizes. The company focuses on four distinct markets: · businesses of all sizes in the U.S. and Canada (from small business to large corporate); Headquartered outside Boulder, Colorado, Key Equipment Finance manages a $12.6 billion equipment portfolio with annual originations of approximately $5.7 billion. The company has major management and operations bases in Toronto, Ontario; Albany, New York; Chicago, Illinois; Houston, Texas; London, England; and Sydney, Australia. The company, which operates in 26 countries and employs 1,100 people worldwide, has been in the equipment financing business for more than 30 years. Additional information regarding Key Equipment Finance, its products and services can be obtained online at www.KEFonline.com. Cleveland-based KeyCorp is one of the nation's largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $92 billion. Key companies provide investment management, retail and commercial banking, consumer finance, and investment banking products and services to individuals and companies throughout the United States and, for certain businesses, internationally. ### Press Release ########################### March 15—Ohio Certified Lease Consultant-Vehicles (open to members and non-members) COLUMBUS – Enrollees are being accepted for participation in the Ohio Certified Lease Consultant or OCLC 4-session, 16-hour education program sponsored by The Ohio Vehicle Leasing Association of The Ohio Vehicle Leasing Association, according to Executive Vice President Dick Lightner. He said OCLC, now in its ninth year, was open to employees of member and non-member vehicle leasing companies, either Ohio domicile or not, but was geared toward those working in Ohio. Lightner said additional information, including enrollments and registration forms, could be obtained by contacting The OVLA at either 1.800.369.5633 or ovla@uautolease.com. A person can enroll and start with any session and graduate from the program as long as they completed all four parts. Cost of the program for employees of members is $50 per person to enroll and $125 per person for each of the four sessions; cost for representatives for each person from non-member would be $75 to enroll and $200 to attend each session. He said the faculty for Session #3 – Legal Aspects of Vehicle Leasing – Ohio Law – is now complete with the finalization of representatives from the Consumer Protection Section of the Ohio Attorney General to discuss the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act (OSCPA) as it applies to vehicle lessors doing business in Ohio. A major past the OCSPA is that it empowers the Ohio Attorney General to enforce provisions of the federal Truth in Leasing Act and Regulation M. Other sessions are: Session #1 (The Basics), Session #2 (Legal-Federal), and Session #4 (Paperwork). “This is the only program of its kind in the nation,” said Lightner, “as permits employees of Ohio vehicle leasing companies to get training in many areas without incurring high travel costs but still benefit from small group discussions.” “It is hard to believe that putting a few letters at the end of your name can help your career,” said Lightner, pointing out that graduates are entitled to put OCLC after their name. They also receive an OCLC lapel pin and OCLC certificate. Sessions #3, Legal Aspects of Vehicle Leasing – Ohio Law March 15, in the RoushHonda Training Room, 104 W Schrock Rd, Westerville. The curriculum: - 1:30 p.m. Ohio Sales & Use Tax: Instructor Tim Sachs, Administrator, Sales/Use Tax Division, Ohio Tax Department. Contact: OVLA Executive Vice President Dick Lightner ovla@uautolease.com or 8700.369.5633 ### Press Release ###########################
News Briefs---- Violence in Nigeria Sends Oil Higher Home Depot wants to extend its reach online Dell Loses $700M Service Deal With Philips ---------------------------------------------------------------
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Sports Briefs---- Ice Dancers End 30-Year Medal Drought for U.S. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/21/sports/olympics/21dance.html ----------------------------------------------------------------
California News Briefs--- A rare pair of running mates http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/13916513.htm ----------------------------------------------------------------
“Gimme that Wine” California can now ship direct to consumers in second-largest U.S. market: Florida St. Louis couple enjoys grape escape weekends The word 'acidity' makes consumers think 'ouch,' but it's what makes a wine delicious If you want to know if you got a value for your wine, or what the wine price is today, go to www.winezap.com Type in the vintage (year) and name of the producer with wine type or geographic area, such as 1995 Chateau Lynch Bages Pauillac. Even 1995 Lynch Bages will work, or 1999 Viader ----------------------------------------------------------------
Calendar Events This Day Directory Day Throw out your old telephone directories. International Mother Language Day To help raise awareness among all peoples of the distinct and enduring value of their language. Single-Tasking Day Multitasking has proven ineffective. Today, do only one thing at a time without feeling guilty. ----------------------------------------------------------------
Today's Top Event in History 1862-Slave Trading Hanging: the first execution for slave trading was carried out by the federal government by the hanging of Nathaniel Gordon at the Tombs prison, New York City. He had been tired and convicted of piracy under the lay of May 15,1820, which defined slave trading as piracy. Gordon, a native of Portland, ME, was the captain of the Erie. His ship was stopped by the U.S. Mohican about 50 miles off the African coast and was found to be carrying 890 Africans, including 600 children, to a slave market. The captives were released in Liberia and Gordon's ship was brought to New York City, where his trial was held. ----------------------------------------------------------------
This Day in American History 1704-The first permanent newspaper was "The Boston News-Letter," first issued this day. The first in Pennsylvania was "The American," published in Philadelphia in 1719. The first in New York was "The New York Gazette," in 1725; the first in Maryland was the "Maryland Gazette," issued at Annapolis in the summer of 1728. "The South Carolina Gazette," printed at Charleston at the beginning of 1732, was the first issued in that province; the first in Rhode Island was "The Rhode Island Gazette," printed at Newport in 1732; the first in Virginia was "The Virginia Gazette," printed at Williams burg in 1736; the first in Connecticut was "The Connecticut Gazette," printed at New Haven in 1755; the first in North Carolina was "The North Carolina Gazette," printed at New Berne the same year; and the first in New Hampshire was "The New Hampshire Gazette," printed at Portsmouth in the summer of 1756. At the period of the French and Indian war newspapers were printed in all of the colonies excepting in New Jersey, Delaware and Georgia. The printing-machines on which all the colonial newspapers and books were printed were simple in form and rude in construction. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Winter Poem Fresh Fallen Snow by Ogden Nash I like to walk on fresh fallen snow |
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